Attorneys and Social Media - The World You Are In!

Many attorneys react vehemently to the rise of social media? Some don't like the blurring of lines between one's personal, public and professional lives. Some fear the interconnected, horizontal, and no longer hierarchical, world that social media represents. But, the fact is that even if attorneys do have concerns about functioning in an increasingly interconnected world driven by social media, those concerns really don’t matter much. That is the world that are living in. And even if they choose not to embrace social media, they need to, at the very least, understand it’s significance

Attorneys and Social Media – The World You Are In! « CrosbyAttorneyBlog http://crosbyattorneyblog.com/2011/02/25/attorneys-and-social-media-the-world-you-are-in/[3/23/2011 10:45:14 AM] Attorneys and Social February 25, 2011 Media – The World You Are In! By James D. Crosby, Attorney at Law Attorneys are generally curious, bright, articulate, and unafraid to interact with others. The fast, interconnected world that social media represents should be a natural for them. And a great many attorneys are jumping in. Anything that allows attorneys to work smarter, expand professional reputations, assist clients, and make more money will ultimately be embraced, provided it is ethical. Why, then, are so many other attorneys reacting so vehemently to the meteoric rise of social media? Some cite ethical issues. Yet attorneys deal with thorny ethical issues all the time. Some cite the risk of an online presence. But attorneys deal with risk all the time. They litigate serious cases and structure large transactions involving other people’s lives and money. Some say they don’t like the “always on” aspect of social media. But, come on, how many attorneys do you know are afraid to voice an opinion or troll for business over drinks? Most attorneys, by nature or necessity, are always on. Others dismiss social media as a fad that won’t last. Really? Facebook is helping to oust dictators across the Middle East. The White House posts on Facebook and Twitter. Queen Elizabeth tweets! The “it’s just a fad” argument is not credible. So what is it? I think that two core things make many attorneys very uncomfortable. First, social media blurs the lines between one’s personal, public, and professional life. Attorneys operate in a complicated professional world. There are confidences to protect, privileges to defend, relationships to grow, reputations to cultivate. Many attorneys feel that if they embrace social media, they will let the genie out of the bottle. They will lose control over their various lives and the boundaries between them, and this loss of control will somehow Home About Contact Disclaimer Archives March 2011 February 2011 November 2010 October 2010 Blogroll Linkedin Twitter Website Twitter Updates Error: Twitter did not respond. Please wait a few minutes and refresh this page. Email Subscription You are subscribed to this blog (manage). About Law, Litigation and the Legal Business. CrosbyAttorneyBlog www.crosbyattorney.com 858-486-0085 My Account My Blog Blog Info Subscribe Like Edit Search WordPress.comAttorneys and Social Media – The World You Are In! « CrosbyAttorneyBlog http://crosbyattorneyblog.com/2011/02/25/attorneys-and-social-media-the-world-you-are-in/[3/23/2011 10:45:14 AM] James D. Crosby is a civil trial attorney with 27 years experience. Mr. Crosby represents entities and individuals in general and complex business, commercial, intellectual property, unfair competition, securities, business tort and real property litigation in state and federal courts. Mr. Crosby is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts of the state of California, and has represented clients not only in California but also in state and federal courts in New York, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Dakota. He has tried numerous jury and non-jury cases, and has represented clients in JAMS and AAA business arbitrations, as well as NAFTA arbitration under UNCITRAL Rules. Mr. Crosby is AV Preeminent peer review rated by Martindale-Hubbell for ethical standards and legal ability -the highest possible rating indicating that his peers rank Mr. Crosby at the highest level of professional excellence. View all posts by James D. Crosby, Attorney at Law hurt them or threaten their livelihoods. Second, I think many attorneys fear the interconnected, no longer hierarchical, world that social media represents. Gone are the days of sitting in a big office, above the fray. Social media is a world where peers and clients rate attorneys in real time on digital forums viewed by thousands of people. Clients expect immediate responses — not a call back on a land line the next day. Faxing is dead, email is waning and texting is a “new normal”. Potential clients are on line, pre-qualifying attorneys. Existing clients are online finding an alternative when their expectations are not swiftly satisfied. Small firms and solo practitioners compete with mega-firms for big clients and complicated highend cases. And, attorneys can no longer rely solely upon colleague referrals and a healthy reputation to sustain a practice. Simply put, because of social media, attorneys are increasingly down in the real-time muck with everybody else. And a great many attorneys don’t like this level playing field. These are legitimate concerns. Many can be addressed with a clear strategy and the appropriate on-line tools. But, attorneys really don’t have the luxury to choose to be involved in this new interconnected world. We ARE already in it! Attorneys may choose not to embrace it. But, they must recognize its significance. Their future choices will surely have personal, professional, and economical consequences. I welcome your thoughts on attorneys and social media. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated) Does the Internet Make You Feel Risky? About James D. Crosby, Attorney at Law This entry was posted on Friday, February 25th, 2011 at 1:47 pm and posted in Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Edit.Attorneys and Social Media – The World You Are In! « CrosbyAttorneyBlog http://crosbyattorneyblog.com/2011/02/25/attorneys-and-social-media-the-world-you-are-in/[3/23/2011 10:45:14 AM] « The Shift. Attorneys and Social Media » Like Be the first to like this post. Leave a Reply Logged in as James D. Crosby, Attorney at Law. Log out? Comment You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> You are the author of this post. Blog at WordPress.com. Theme: Elegant Grunge by Michael Tyson. Post Comment

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